Dozens arrested in county-wide warrant sweep

As of Friday afternoon, more than 70 people with outstanding warrants had been arrested in a county-wide police sweep.

Rock Island County deputies and area police started the blitz around 6 a.m. Friday morning. Many of those arrested had outstanding warrants for non-payment of court fines and fees. Some were wanted for violating their probation.

Still, there are about 8 thousand outstanding arrest warrants in the county. Non-payment of fines and fees totals in excess of a million dollars.

“It wasn’t just about numbers today. It was also about sending a message and the message was tri-fold. Pay your fines, take care of your obligations and, we haven’t forgotten you,” Sheriff Jeff Boyd said.

Authorities announced plans for the sweep last week, and urged people to turn themselves in and make arrangements to take care of their outstanding debts. Sheriff Boyd said more than 20 people did just that.